The present invention relates generally to the field of tools and, in particular, to a tool that can be used to install and extract fuses.
Fuses are often difficult to extract or install without using a tool because of their location or because of the force required to perform the installation or extraction. For example, many of the environmentally protected housings used by the telecommunications industry are located on utility poles or suspended from cables and contain a multitude of fuses. Typically, these fuses are accessible through access ports that are often smaller than the average adult hand and are often located several inches from the plane of the access port. Moreover, the fuses often have exposed electrically charged surfaces and/or are often surrounded by electrically charged surfaces.
Frequently, tools that are made from electrical conducting materials, that apply incorrect forces to the fuse, or the like are used for installing or extracting fuses, e.g., xe2x80x9cneedle-nosexe2x80x9d pliers, screwdrivers, or the like. Using tools made from electrically conducting materials frequently cause the user to receive electrical shocks, cause electrical shorts that often damage electrical equipment, or the like. Using tools that apply incorrect forces frequently damage the fuses or the equipment to which the fuses are coupled or do not enable the installation or extraction of the fuse. Moreover, many of the tools conventionally used for installing and extracting fuses often require the user to use both hands and/or to apply a continuous force to the tool to maintain engagement of the tool and fuse. This is undesirable and causes safety issues when changing fuses located in housings that are located on utility poles or suspended from cables.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for tools for installing or extracting fuses that reduce the user""s risk for electrical shocks, reduce the risk of electrical shorts, can be operated with one hand, and do not require the user to apply a continuous force to maintain engagement between the tools and the fuses.
The above-mentioned problems with the tools used to install and extract fuses and other problems are addressed by embodiments of the present invention and will be understood by reading and studying the following specification. Embodiments of the present invention provide tools for installing and extracting fuses that reduce the user""s risk for electrical shocks, reduce the risk of electrical shorts, can be operated with one hand, and do not require the user to apply a continuous force to the tools to maintain engagement between the tools and the fuses.
More particularly, in one embodiment, a tool for installing and extracting fuses is provided. The tool has an elongate handle. A guideway spans the length of the handle, and a pair of jaws, adapted to retain a fuse, protrudes from an end of the handle. A rod is disposed within the guideway and is selectively actuatable within the guideway for releasing the fuse from the jaws.